Some Thoughts on Helping Fellow Practitioners Overcome Sickness Karma

(Minghui.org) A number of practitioners in our area have come down with sickness karma over the past several months, causing false illness symptoms that have lasted for a long time. Some have lost their lives. Having talked with some of these practitioners, I have some realizations that I would like to share.

Importance of Changing Notions

We all know from the Fa principles that practitioners don’t get actual illnesses. Yet, I found that many practitioners did not fundamentally change their concept of sickness, and even those who helped others by sending righteous thoughts didn’t realize this. I often heard practitioners use disease names when they talk about a fellow practitioner who was having a physical tribulation, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, breast cancer, stomach cancer, etc., and the practitioner himself would also use the same words. Then they’d say that they don’t acknowledge the persecution by the old forces, and they will send righteous thoughts to eliminate it.

We all know that everything has a factor behind it. When a practitioner names a disease, it means that he acknowledges it, and sending righteous thoughts while acknowledging it means trying to oppose the persecution while acknowledging it.

Many practitioners undergoing the tribulations have such strong notions. Once someone feels uncomfortable, he or she automatically thinks of many diseases. The more he suffers, the more he worries, and eventually he looks for human ways to cure the “disease.” The practitioners who help the person by sending righteous thoughts to eliminate evil factors also change from being confident at the beginning to being anxious, and then feeling helpless. Sometimes both sides also know to look inward, and after looking for a long time, they still don’t realize the attachment of calling the symptoms a disease name.

Understanding the Fa Principles Is the Only Way to Eliminate the Illusion

In many experience sharing articles on the Minghui website, we see practitioners use the term “false appearance” or “illusion of sickness,” which are critical terms. They not only represent the essence of the problem, but also remind practitioners to keep a clear mind, to recognize and dismantle the evil factors in other dimensions, and to truly deny their effect.

In order to completely eliminate the interference of this illusion, we must learn the Fa well and understand the Fa principles in order to fundamentally step out of the ordeal. When I contacted practitioners experiencing tribulations, I found that most of them were not clear about the Fa, they didn’t study the Fa well, and most of them could not even memorize “On Dafa.” When encountering a tribulation, what comes to mind is not Fa principles but human things. Thus, they are taking the illusions to be real, and are admitting and feeling them. They don’t know how to look inward, so they just passively bear the tribulation.

Letting Go of the Attachment to Tribulations

Many who help others experiencing tribulation often have this experience, that is, they are affected by the practitioner, can’t keep a calm mind, think about the practitioner even during Fa study or doing the exercises, and sometimes feel very tired while sending righteous thoughts. This indicates that they have developed an attachment and should pay attention. If they can’t adjust quickly, not only will they have problems, but the attachment will also be used to some extent by the old forces to aggravate the persecution of the practitioner in tribulation. So instead of helping, they might do harm. Only by maintaining a rational and sober state of mind, and letting go of attachment to fellow practitioners, can we truly help them.

It seems that neither the practitioners in ordeal or the practitioners who are helping can take this false appearance of an illness seriously. Most of the practitioners who don’t overcome the tribulation have taken it so seriously that they couldn’t let go of it.

Master has repeatedly told us:

“Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)

“The entire cultivation process for a cultivator is one of constantly giving up human attachments.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)

“If you cannot relinquish the attachment or concern for illness, we cannot do anything and will be unable to help you.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)

The tribulation is only an illusion no matter how real it feels.

Studying the Fa with a Quiet Mind Is Key

The most important thing that a practitioner experiencing tribulations needs is an environment for quietly studying the Fa, and the ability to concentrate. Only by studying the Fa with a quiet mind can one immerse the whole body and mind in the Fa, can all the unrighteous factors be disintegrated, and life be sublimated in the Fa. I know this from my own experience of passing the tests: except for eating and sleeping, I spend all the time, every day, on reading, listening to and memorizing the Fa, sending righteous thoughts, and doing the Falun Dafa exercises. It’s important to intensively read and memorize the Fa, read through all the Dafa books, and increase the time and frequency of sending righteous thoughts.

When your mind is very quiet and your thoughts are only on the Fa, you will find yourself empty, everything around you will seem to not exist, and the so-called tribulation has vanished.

Communication Among Practitioners

Exchanging experiences among fellow practitioners should also serve to strengthen righteous thinking and enhance our fellow practitioners’ confidence in overcoming ordeals. Therefore, practitioners attending the exchange must be clear on the Fa principles and have strong righteous thoughts, otherwise it will not have a good effect.

The discussion should not be a mere formality, and the effect does not depend on the number of people participating. Sometimes we must take into account the environment and psychological endurance of the fellow practitioner. We shouldn’t force or use wishful thinking, which may cause misunderstanding or displeasure for the practitioner’s family members.

Personally, I think it is not suitable to have a lot of people at the person’s home, and it is better to visit a fellow practitioner in accordance with the state of everyday people and the visiting etiquette of regular society. This way the non-practitioner family members won’t be unhappy, and we can use the visit as an opportunity to clarify the facts to them.

Whether to go to the hospital or not, which is a sensitive issue for some family members, the practitioners who are sharing cannot make the decision on behalf of the practitioner in tribulation. We can tell the family members that Dafa does not say that we are not allowed to go to the hospital, and that to go or not is a personal decision.

For those practitioners who have been to the hospital and carry a psychological burden, it is even more necessary to communicate from the perspective of the Fa principles, so that the person can let go of the mental burden and build up their confidence.

Editor’s note: This article only represents the author’s understanding in their current cultivation state meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can

“Compare with one another in study, in cultivationExamine how each and every thing measures up...”(“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)